


Not Jesus, Just Seokmin

by beesandlebrunes



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Brotherly Love, Humor, Light Angst, M/M, Memory Loss, Sexual Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-26 14:13:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13859424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beesandlebrunes/pseuds/beesandlebrunes
Summary: On a cloudy day, hidden in a dark corner of Seoul, Lee Seokmin tidied a book display.(Seokmin can read minds, Mingyu is a fucking genius, and Kwon Soonyoung...Oh, Kwon Soonyoung.)





	1. Love & Letter

On a cloudy day, hidden in a dark corner of Seoul, Lee Seokmin tidied a book display.

The Love & Letter bookshop was empty, as it always was. Seokmin was sure it was because its name was more _stationery and intimates_ and less _books and tea_ , but Jeonghan refused to change it.

“I already paid for the sign.”

“With what money?” Seokmin said. “We have no customers.”

Jeonghan perched on a white armchair that would be black by now if Seokmin weren’t bored enough to dust it every day. He took a sip of whatever he kept in his travel mug. Tequila, probably. “Maybe your bad attitude is keeping the customers away. Customers can sense negative energy, you know.”

“Then fire me. I already messed up your coffee.”

Jeonghan scowled at the mention of The Coffee Fiasco, then made a face as if he were considering the suggestion, though Seokmin knew he wasn’t serious. “Tempting, but who’s going to make all the pretty displays?”

For one glorious second, Seokmin’s chest swelled with pride at the “LGBT Reads” display he spent forty-five minutes on the night before, but the barren bookshop reminded him that no one would ever see it. “Chan,” he grumbled as he set a book down a little too harshly.

Jeonghan snorted. “As cute as he is, Chan is hopeless. I don’t even know why I hired the kid. I felt bad for him, I guess. The poor thing came in wearing rags, begging for a job.”

Seokmin rolled his eyes when Jeonghan turned away dramatically. The last time Jeonghan told him Chan’s origin story, Chan was wearing “one of those ugly yellow school uniforms.” On another occasion, Jeonghan rescued Chan from working a long and hard life at a pig farm. By now, Seokmin was used to Jeonghan’s made up stories about the only other employee at Love & Letter.

Seokmin’s phone buzzed with a phone call; it was Mingyu. After making sure Jeonghan wasn’t paying attention, Seokmin answered it. “Hey.”

Mingyu’s annoyed voice sounded tinny through the speaker on the Blackberry Seokmin had had since he was 14. “Can you stop dicking around with the power? I’m trying to have Skype sex with Seungkwan and it’s really killing the vibe.”

Seokmin rolled his eyes. “First of all, gag.”

“Just _stop_ , would you? I’m dying for ass.”

“Calm down, I’m not messing with the power. I’m at work.”

“You’re at work?”

“Yeah, Chan has food poisoning and asked me to cover his shift.”

Mingyu hummed.

“Yeah. Not that he needed me to. There’s no one here, as per usual.”

“Wait.”

“What?”

“If you’re at work, then who’s flickering the lights?”

“Nice Spongebob reference, but I'd rather you didn't feed into Western globalization.”

“I’m serious, Seokmin.”

The genuine worry in Mingyu’s voice placated him. “Hey. Our building’s old. Just call Jun and tell him to fix it and that we’re moving out if he doesn’t.”

“Okay, I guess.”

Mingyu still didn’t sound completely convinced that there wasn’t anything to worry about, so Seokmin added, “I’m done at 9. Why don’t you pick me up, and then we can pick up Mom from the restaurant so Mrs. Kang doesn’t need to drive her home?”

“You didn’t take the car? How did you get to work? Did you fly?”

Seokmin cracked a smile. “No, Gyu. I still can’t fly. I ran into Soonyoung and he offered me a ride.”

“Oh, _Soon_ young.”

The little shit. Seokmin’s cheeks heated up and he spluttered out a “see you at nine!” before ending the call.

Kwon Soonyoung. Seokmin sighed, remembering the events of that afternoon as he leaned over the display and rested his chin in his palms.

Before he left the apartment, Jeonghan had called Seokmin, told him to pick him up a coffee or else he was fired, and hung up before Seokmin could even say hello. So, instead of getting the car and going straight to work, he found himself walking to the convenience store down the block. Afterwards he walked back towards the apartment to get the car. As soon as he turned the corner, he felt a gust of air and almost collided with a kid on his skateboard.

“Sorry again, man!” the kid called, continuing across the street without stopping.

Seokmin shook his head, disbelieving. That kid almost ran him over with that skateboard at least three times a week when he was on his way to work. The timing was impeccable. When he composed himself again, he turned to see a familiar face.

“Soonyoung hyung?”

“Seokmin!” Soonyoung’s cheeks puffed out in his cute smile, and Seokmin felt his defenses weaken. Voices from every direction blended together and sent his head spinning. Soonyoung must’ve been able to tell something was wrong, because suddenly he had his hand around Seokmin’s bicep. “Hey! Are you okay? You look pale.”

Knowing that Kwon Soonyoung’s own small, delicate hand was touching _him_ , a mere mortal, only made it worse. Every inch of Seokmin that touched Soonyoung tingled with heat and excitement. Seokmin’s head started to ache as he scrambled to regain control of his mind. Somehow, he managed to close the voices back out, and Soonyoung’s glowing face came to focus, inches away from his. Soonyoung’s lips were parted in a way that made Seokmin gasp.

Soonyoung squeezed his arm. “Are you all right? I lost you for a second there.”

“Yeah, I’m—” he glanced down at Soonyoung’s hand still on him, which must have sent Soonyoung the wrong message, because he pulled it away and took a step back. “I’m fine now, hyung. Thanks.”

“You don’t have to call me hyung.”

“Sorry, hyung.”

Soonyoung rolled his eyes. “Anyway, are you — oh, your coffee!”

Seokmin realized he wasn’t holding the coffee anymore, and looked down to find it splattered all over the sidewalk while the styrofoam cup rolled into the street. “God, I am _so_ fired.”

Soonyoung gave him a sympathetic look. “I’ll buy you a new one. You’re on your way to work, right? I can drive you there.”

“Oh, uh, thanks, but you don’t have to do that.”

“I know I don’t, but I want to!” Soonyoung said. He picked up the cup and tossed it into a garbage bin nearby — Seokmin hated that that only made Soonyoung ten times hotter — and pulled him down the street. “I’m parked by the gas station. I came down this way hoping I’d see you.” He looked back at Seokmin, his cheeks the faintest shade of pink. Seokmin looked away, feeling his face burning.

 _He’s so cute when he’s shy_.

Seokmin’s head snapped up. Soonyoung was facing forward now, dragging them on towards the gas station a block east from Seokmin’s apartment building. He wasn’t imagining that, was he? He knew he wasn’t, but he still didn’t want to get his hopes up.

Seokmin stopped himself. He shouldn’t read Soonyoung’s mind for his own gain. He shouldn’t read anyone’s mind without good reason, and he made a point to stick to that code. He closed his mind off to Soonyoung’s.

The moment they reached Soonyoung’s car and the boy let go of Seokmin’s wrist was simultaneously a great relief and a disappointment. Seokmin rubbed the area as he climbed into the passenger’s seat, vowing never to shower again.

“Safety first Seoku. Don’t forget your seatbelt.”

Seokmin smiled at Soonyoung and put on his seatbelt.

“Where do you work again? I don’t think you ever told me.”

“Oh, just a bookstore, it’s on the other side of the city. You don’t have to drop me off right there, I can walk a little.”

“That’s cute, what’s it called? Maybe I’ll take a look inside.”

“No!” Seokmin cried, earning a strange look from Soonyoung. Seokmin internally punched himself. “I mean, uh, that’s okay, I really don’t want to inconvenience you. You probably have better things to do.”

In reality, Seokmin would love if Soonyoung went with him to work. But there was one problem: there wasn’t a single good thing that could come out of Soonyoung meeting his boss.

First off, Jeonghan was... a real character, to put it kindly. His brain-to-mouth filter wasn’t malfunctioning, it was left out at the manufacturer. On Seokmin’s first day at work, Jeonghan asked Seokmin if he and Mingyu had ever considered hooking up with another set of twins, and when he mistook Seokmin’s stunned silence for a “no, we haven’t, but I’m interested,” he tried to hook them up with a some twins he knew.

Second off, he may or may not have heard Seokmin moan Soonyoung’s name in the midst of his daily nap. And Seokmin didn’t want to find out what Jeonghan would do with that information once he actually put a face to the name.

Thankfully, Soonyoung didn’t push it further. “Well, I guess I _should_ better study for my exams.”

“Good idea. I wouldn’t want to be the reason you don’t perform well.”

“What a gentleman,” Soonyoung teased.

“Only for my prince,” Seokmin said, and he delighted in the fact that for once, Soonyoung was the one blushing.

But when Soonyoung didn’t speak for the rest of the drive, and the only sign of him acknowledging Seokmin was following his directions, Seokmin worried that he might have overstepped a little. Although Mingyu would disagree, all the flirting they’d done so far was subtle, subtle enough that Seokmin was afraid he was actually misreading Soonyoung and his “flirting” was just a part of his personality.

“Wait!”

Seokmin turned back to find Soonyoung fidgeting in his seat. He had to hold back a groan at the sight of Soonyoung biting his lip.

And then, without any warning, Soonyoung surged forward, and a soft pair of lips pressed against his cheek.

Now, when Seokmin closed his eyes he could still feel Soonyoung’s hand and lips burning themselves into Seokmin’s wrist and face like they needed to be remembered.  


An hour and a half before 9, Seokmin had already done every chore he could possibly do, _twice_ , so he decided to settle into the armchair he just dusted, _again_ , and read one of the books from his display. It was interesting enough for Seokmin to lose track of time until Jeonghan tapped him on the shoulder.

“It’s 9:15. Are you going to leave already?”

“It’s 9:15?” Seokmin sat up straight, dropping the forgotten book onto the floor. “Where’s Mingyu?”

Jeonghan cocked his head. “Mm, who’s Mingyu again?”

“My brother? You’ve met him like _five_ times. He was supposed to pick me up at the end of my shift. Shit.”

Seokmin expected Jeonghan to brush him off with a wave of his manicured hand and say that Mingyu was probably just running late or forgot. But Jeonghan’s expression melted into a mix of worry and panic that mirrored how Seokmin felt. “Oh dear.”

“I gotta make sure he’s okay.” Seokmin was on his feet, pulling out his phone to dial Mingyu as he took quick strides toward the door. The call went straight to voicemail. “Christ, Mingyu, pick up.”

“I’ll come with you! I have a car.” Jeonghan was following him out the door and Seokmin was too worried about Mingyu to bother wondering why.

When Seokmin and Jeonghan burst into Seokmin’s third floor apartment fifteen minutes later out of breath, the apartment was quiet, void of Mingyu’s busy movement and mutterings to himself. He opened his mind up, hoping to catch Mingyu’s thoughts, but none of the voices he heard belonged to Mingyu.

“Mingyu!” Seokmin called his brother’s name a few times as he looked in the kitchen and the bathroom, then finally went to their bedroom and flung the door open. “Mingyu — fucking _hell_ , Mingyu.”

Mingyu rubbed his eyes as he sat up in bed next to Seungkwan, who rolled over and pulled the covers over his head. “What’s all the yelling about?”

“You— you’ve been _sleeping_ this whole time?”

“Yeah, Seungkwan came over ‘cause I was scared and we fell— _oh._ ” Mingyu slumped with guilt. “I’m so sorry, Seokmin, I forgot about picking you up, I completely lost track of time.”

Seokmin massaged his temples in an attempt to quell his oncoming headache. “I was worried, you asshole. I thought something happened to you.”

“I’m sorry, Seokmin.” Mingyu’s voice wavered, and Seokmin heard a sniff. He looked back up at Mingyu, whose lip quivered and and eyes shone with tears.

Seokmin sighed. “Mingyu, please don’t cry. I’m not mad, you just scared me.” He climbed onto Mingyu’s bed and nudged his shoulder. “We’re good, yeah?”

Mingyu nodded, still looking guilty. “So how’d you get home?”

“Jeonghan drove me.”

Only then did Mingyu notice Seokmin’s boss standing in the doorway, watching them with a curious expression. “Oh. Hey, Jeonghan.”

“What the hell’s going on?” Seungkwan squinted at Mingyu and Seokmin over the covers. “Can I sleep? Who’s that?” He glared at Jeonghan, who raised an eyebrow in response.

Mingyu poked Seungkwan’s cheek. “Hey, be nice. That’s Jeonghan, Seokmin’s boss. Jeonghan, this is my boyfriend, Seungkwan. Sorry he has no manners.” Seungkwan rolled over to hit Mingyu.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Jeonghan said in his low purr. “I should get going. I didn’t lock up the store.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Seokmin offered, not out of politeness or because he thought Jeonghan needed an escort, but because he really needed a minute to calm down.

Thankfully, Jeonghan didn’t say a word as they walked back down. But when they stepped off the landing on the ground floor, Jun popped his head out the door of the landlord suite. The scent of pastries filled the musty hallway.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, fidgeting with a loose tie on his apron. “There was a report about some commotion in your apartment.”

“Yeah, we’re good,” Seokmin said. Then, embarrassed that someone heard him yell at Mingyu, he added, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Do you guys want some banana bread? It’s fresh.”

“Thanks, Jun, but I’m good.”

Jun nodded, then turned to Jeonghan. “And you?”

An unrecognizable expression flashed across Jeonghan’s face for the briefest moment, but quickly dissolved into an easy, friendly look, one that Seokmin had seen hundreds of times. “I’d love some. Thank you.”

Jun disappeared for a moment, returning seconds later with a pan of bread. “For you.”

“Thank you.” Jeonghan bowed, and Jun did the same. “Seokmin, I’ll see you at the shop in a few days.”

“Bye, Jeonghan.” He watched Jeonghan go until his boss drove out of sight. Then he realized Jun was still standing in the open doorway. Jun smiled softly at Seokmin in a way that anyone who wasn’t his best friends, Mingyu, or their mother had never smiled at him before, and it unsettled him a little. He was about to bring up the flickering lights in the apartment when their quiet street lit up again, telling Seokmin his mother was home. He nodded goodbye to Jun and hurried out onto the stoop to greet her.


	2. Childhood

His earliest memory goes back to the second grade.

“Mingyu.”

Seokmin’s head whipped up from his half-finished drawing of Shoebox, the stray alley dog his mom fed scraps every so often. In the opposite corner of the room, his twin brother Mingyu sat by himself, making a Lego dinosaur. He didn’t seem to hear someone call his name.

“Mingyu.”

Seokmin turned toward the direction of the voice. It wasn’t Miss Jennie, who was playing with dolls at one of the tables with some of the girls. He scanned the area until his eyes fell on Seungkwan and Kyungwon, who were eyeing Mingyu from across the room.

Seokmin set down his crayon and watched Kyungwon give Seungkwan a devilish grin, while Seungkwan shook his head. Seokmin strained to hear what they were saying.

“ _This is mean_...”

Kyungwon marched over to Mingyu’s corner and kicked his dinosaur, sending legos flying everywhere.

Seokmin blinked rapidly and shook his head. When he looked again, Kyungwon was still standing by Seungkwan and Mingyu’s dinosaur was still intact. Kyungwon’s evil grin had widened further, and she started marching toward Mingyu.

Seokmin shot out of his seat and jumped on Kyungwon before she could get to Mingyu.

Kyungwon screeched as they fell to the floor. They fought, Seokmin biting and scratching and Kyungwon slapping and shrieking, “Get off me!”

Seconds later, Jennie pulled Seokmin off of Kyungwon, who scrambled backwards, crying. “He attacked me!”

“Leave my brother alone!” Seokmin tried to lunge at Kyungwon one more time, but Jennie had a firm hold on his arms. “She was gonna kick Mingyu’s triceratops over!”

“Was not!” Kyungwon snarled.

“Was too!”

“Was _not_!”

“Was _too_! Ask Seungkwan! He told her it was mean but she was gonna do it anyway.”

Everyone turned to Seungkwan, who hadn’t moved from where Kyungwon had left him and was staring with his mouth agape.

“Seungkwan didn’t say anything to me. See, Miss Jennie? He’s _lying_.”

“Why, I oughta—” Seokmin tried and failed to take another swipe at Kyungwon.

“Seungkwan?” Jennie said as she tightened her grip on Seokmin. “Is that true?”

Seungkwan's face reddened, and he glanced at Seokmin nervously before staring down at his Skechers.

“Seungkwan.”

Seungkwan mumbled something.

“Speak up, Seungkwan.”

Seungkwan shifted uncomfortably, shooting another anxious look toward Seokmin. “Kyungwon’s right, I didn’t say anything.”

“Ha!”

“But she _was_ gonna do something to Mingyu. She said, ‘let’s mess with the weirdo.’”

Everyone turned back to Kyungwon, whose face was red. She and Seokmin sat a thirty-minute time-out in separate rooms.

Maybe Seungkwan did say something, or maybe he didn’t. But Seokmin definitely heard it, and no one thought to ask why Seokmin knew Kyungwon was going for Mingyu’s Lego dinosaur when Seungkwan never mentioned it.  


 

They lost the house when Seokmin was eight. Their mother had inherited a decent amount of money from her great-aunt when they were three years old, and she used it to supplement her waitressing income. But after five years, they hit the bottom of that inheritance, and even a second job wasn’t enough to cover everything. In a few months, they were moving to an apartment in one of the more run down neighborhoods where the landlord took pity on their single mother and offered them a discounted two-bedroom.

Their last night in the house was without water or electricity. It was a snowy Saturday in early December, so they all piled into the queen bed in the master bedroom with tripled up blankets, huddling together for warmth. Seokmin fell asleep cocooned in Mingyu and their mother’s arms.

When Seokmin woke up, he and Mingyu were alone and it wasn’t light outside yet. There was silence from Mingyu, a sign that he wasn’t dreaming tonight. Disappointing; Mingyu’s dreams were always interesting.

A light murmur came from another room. Seokmin sat up and scanned the bedroom. The bathroom door was cracked open. He climbed out from under the covers, shuddering as the chill hit him.

 _What am I going to do? I can’t even afford to pay the bills_.

Seokmin pushed the bathroom door open just enough to peek his head in. Lit by the moon streaming through the windows, Seokmin’s mother sat on the floor by the bathtub, sniffing and whimpering occasionally.

_They’re growing boys, they deserve a stable environment..._

With a quick glance to make sure Mingyu was still sleeping soundly, Seokmin slipped into the bathroom and went to his mother. She gave a start when he wrapped his arms around her neck and pressed his face into her hair. “It’s gonna be okay, Momma.”

“Seokmin?” _Don’t let him see you cry._

“Don’t cry. Mingyu and I will be fine. Don’t worry.”

She let out a quiet sob as she put her arms around him and pulled him closer. _I’m a horrible mother_.

“You’re not,” Seokmin said into her hair. “You’re the best mom ever.”

She stilled for a second, and Seokmin wondered if he messed up and responded to something he wasn’t supposed to have heard. He was about to try to cover it up, but she only tightened her hold on him and kissed his shoulder.  


 

By the time they were thirteen, Seokmin had long grown out of his quietness. He had a decent amount of friends at school, including Seungkwan. Mingyu, on the other hand, was the kid everyone saw getting pushed into a locker in anti-bullying commercials.

Mingyu had always been the _different_ twin. He could read and count to a hundred by five years old. He finished the first _Harry Potter_ book by six and a half. And he was tall; by eleven, Mingyu was already several inches taller than the other boys and was so skinny you could just see every bone in his body. All of this made him an easy target for the assholes at their public school.

“Why don’t we ask him to sit with us?” Seungkwan said one day at the lunch table, looking at Mingyu as the boy walked away from the lunch line toward the exit so he could eat in the library in peace.

Seokmin shook his head as he bit into the Monday menu’s stale cheese sandwich. “I’ve asked. He doesn’t want to.”

“I feel bad.” Seungkwan pouted.

Seokmin was about to say “me too” when he heard a distinct voice among the general chatter of the cafeteria.

_What a geek._

Seokmin’s gaze went straight to Changhyun, Kyungwon’s boyfriend and the devil’s human form. If you can call him human. He sat at a table with Kyungwon, Jungkook, and some foreign kid whose name Seokmin never learned. Kyungwon, Michael, and the foreigner were talking about something while they ate. A quick check confirmed the three weren’t paying attention to Mingyu or Changhyun, who was looking on at Mingyu in disgust.

Seokmin would’ve let it go and just finished his lunch if he hadn’t heard the next words.

_Fucking fag._

The sandwich fell onto the styrofoam tray, the hard bread chafing the material. Seungkwan looked back at Seokmin, confused. “What is it?”

Before Seungkwan could even get the question out, Seokmin was out of his seat and barrelling toward Changhyun's table, Changhyun and Jungkook facing away from him. As he got closer, Kyungwon and the new kid saw him, and Kyungwon hit Changhyun's shoulder.

Changhyun turned around just in time for Seokmin to close a fist in his hoodie and pull him out of his seat. Seokmin had grown quite a bit over the last summer — though not as much as Mingyu, who was already 5’10 — and stood a good few inches taller than Jonah.

“Take it back.”

Changhyun's eyes widened, and even Seokmin was surprised by the ferocity of his own voice. “The hell are you talking about?”

The cafeteria was quiet as all of their classmates zoomed in on the spectacle. Except it wasn't quiet. He heard the voices, circling him like birds of prey, too many to even make out what they were saying. Somewhere, underneath the icy burn that rushed through his limbs, his head ached. Between all of that, he couldn't even muster the energy to think. Unable to speak and legs growing weak, Seokmin shook Changhyun, who gasped as his back hit the table.

“Fuck’s wrong with you?" Changhyun wheezed. "I didn’t even say anything!”

Seokmin's fist pulled backward, and as if he were turning a dial, the voices grew louder and louder, until.

“Seokmin!” Mingyu’s hand was on his arm. “ _Stop_.”

The quiet hit him harder than the noise. Seokmin looked over his shoulder at Mingyu, whose expression was worried but firm. Seokmin’s rage ebbed enough for him to let out a shaky breath and release his grip on Changhyun.

Changhyun smoothed out the front of his hoodie. “Fuck's wrong with you? You freak and your fag brother.”

That time, Mingyu wasn’t fast enough to stop Seokmin before he could land a punch in Changhyun's jaw.  


 

“Mingyu.”

“What.”

“I have something to tell you.”

“You’re pregnant.”

Seokmin nudged Mingyu’s shoulder. “No, weirdo, this is serious. Get off your phone.”

They were sixteen, and Seokmin had grown into his _ability_ , as he considered it. With practice, it became a lot easier to control. Seokmin was never unintelligent, but it had been hard to focus on schoolwork and lessons when he couldn’t turn off the constant noise around him. Now that he’s gotten a hold of his ability, his grades weren’t as good as Mingyu’s, but he was pulling A’s and B’s and maybe the occasional C.

Mingyu sighed and set his phone down. “Okay. What is it?”

Seokmin took a deep breath. “I can read minds.”

Mingyu rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever.” He picked his phone back up, smiling at a text he received.

Not the reaction Seokmin was hoping for, but he wasn’t surprised. He resorted to Plan B. “You’re thinking about — _gag_ — Seungkwan's ass. Again, gag.”

Mingyu’s head shot up. “What?” _How does he know? Lucky guess?_

“Nope. Not a lucky guess. I know because I can read minds, like I told you forty-five seconds ago. Now, if you’d just believed me the first time, then you wouldn’t have had your privacy invaded and I wouldn’t be thinking about punching myself in the face over and over until I stop thinking about you and our best friend… coupling.” He paused before adding, “I hope you’re using condoms.”

“Jesus Christ.”

“Not Jesus. Just Seokmin. Also, I’m pretty sure Jesus couldn’t read minds.”

Mingyu rubbed his face with both hands. “What the fuck?”

“Yeah. I just wanted to tell you because you’re my brother, and I don’t want to keep something like this from you. If you have any questions, I can answer. Truthfully.”

“I think I need a moment to let this sink in.”

“Okay. Well, I’ll be in the kitchen when you’re ready to talk. You want popcorn?”

Mingyu spluttered. “Uh. Sure.”

“Okay. Love you, idiot.”

“Love you.”

“How long have you had, uh.”

“How long have I been reading minds?”

Mingyu’s cheeks pinked. He looked like a giant baby in their dining room chair, almost six feet tall and heavy with muscle after he spent the last summer working out. He pushed his glasses up his nose. “Yeah.”

“As long as I can remember.”

Mingyu blinked.

“Remember at daycare when I supposedly attacked Kyungwon?”

“You definitely attacked Kyungwon, but yes.”

“It wasn’t _that_ bad—” Mingyu gave him a look, “—okay, but she deserved it. Anyway, we’re all friends now, so it doesn't matter. But I read her and Seungkwan's minds that day. I didn’t know it at the time. Now I do.”

“Holy shit. Okay,” Mingyu hesitated, “do you ever, like, um—”

“Read your mind?”

Mingyu nodded.

“I used to. Not because I wanted to, but I couldn’t help it. I can control it now, though. I don’t read your mind, or Mom’s, or Kyungwon’s, Seungkwan's... you get the idea.”

Mingyu relaxed. “Okay. Thanks then.”

When Mingyu didn’t say anything else, Seokmin said, “Is there anything else you want to know?”

Mingyu thought for a moment, then his face lit up with curiosity. “How far is your reach?”

“My what?”

“Your reach. How close does someone need to be in order for you to be able to read their mind?”

It eased Seokmin to know that Mingyu wasn’t _completely_ freaking out and calling the cops so Seokmin could be sent off to wherever they keep the X-Men. He sat back in his chair. “Huh. I never really thought about it before.”

“We should experiment.”

 

Mingyu pointed at a woman about twenty feet away who was talking to someone over the phone. “Can you read her mind?”

“Yeah. Easy,” Seokmin said after letting a sliver of her mind through.

“Hm.” Mingyu sipped at his strawberry smoothie and looked around the mall. “What about him? In the suspenders.”

Seokmin zeroed in on an elderly man walking with a little girl about twice as far. He opened up his mind, and his heart warmed at the old man’s affection for the girl, probably his grandkid. “Yep.”

An excited giggle bubbled out of Mingyu, who clearly found a lot of enjoyment in the scientific process. “Okay, okay. What about one of those guys about to walk through Macy’s?”

That took a bit more work. Seokmin fixed his gaze on one of the guys in the group and opened up his mind to him. He definitely heard something, but it was muffled, like he had to dig through a pile of pillows to get to the voice. After a few seconds of concentration: _Is it gay to wanna marry your friend?_

Seokmin snorted.

“What?” Mingyu said.

“Yeah. It was harder this time but I managed.”

Mingyu’s face dissolved into fascination. “That’s awesome. Maybe that’s your limit? What was that, a hundred and twenty feet? Give or take? Maybe if you practice you can expand your reach.”

“Maybe.” Seokmin sounded like he didn’t care, but inside he was just as excited as Mingyu. Even more, he was grateful for Mingyu and for deciding to share his secret with his brother. All of those years had been lonely, having to hide something he couldn’t even control from everyone in his life. If he’d known Mingyu would react so positively, he would have confessed ages ago. He only put it off for so long because he was terrified Mingyu would think he was, in Changhyun's words, a freak.

As they walked out of the mall, Mingyu talked animatedly about a robot he was working on at school that could cook tteokbokki, and Seokmin listened with a fond smile on his face the whole way home.

**Author's Note:**

> hhhh so i have about 2 and a half chapters of this written and i'm gonna try! to update once a week. lets say saturdays. anyway. all of svt will eventually show up! pls uhhhh leave comments perhaps, bc ngl i had my professor edit this and he kinda obliterated the plans i had for the rest of it sooooooo not entirely sure what direction this is gonna go in!
> 
> ++ talk to me on twitter @clsphoblc !! :D


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